Scott Collison, who in 2011 launched one of the biggest hedge funds in Asia, has joined Franklin Templeton in Singapore as its first head of alternative sales for Asia, home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies and large institutional investors.

After a brief slowdown during the 2008 financial crisis, alternative assets have continued to gain popularity with investors, with large asset managers the biggest beneficiary of inflows.

Hedge funds, for example, have seen their assets grow by a trillion dollar to over $2.5 trillion since 2009, according to data from industry tracker HFR. A survey by Barclays, released on Monday, said the industry could raise a net $80 billion in 2014, a nearly 25 percent increase over 2013.

The survey also showed that 66 percent of the inflows through September in 2013 went to firms managing $5 billion or more, while 13 percent went to those with less than $1 billion.

Globally, asset managers have been scrambling to expand their alternative investment products.